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Our favorite space opera scoundrel seems to be currently lost and directionless. The Han Solo Anthology film has lost its current Director team. What could this mean for the film and where does it go from here.?

Han Solo Film

The as of now currently untitled Han Solo prequel film has had its share of cheers and groans. The groans mainly coming from Disney announcing they would be doing a Han Solo prequel film. So soon on the heels of losing Han in Episode VII, they were ready to cast a new face into the Scruffy Looking Nerf-Herder’s shoes. Then we start getting word of things like Han Solo isn’t the character’s real name and you will learn who he really is. It just left a bad taste in some people’s mouths.

(left to right) Donald Glover, Woody Harrelson, Alden Ehrenreich

The plus side of things has been the casting. Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian is inspired casting. The fact that Woody Harrelson is included in the film is great as well. Lastly if they were going to be casting a new face into the Han role it seems, so far, they picked a good one with AldenEhrenreich. The casting has been like mouthwash for that bad taste.

The final bit was that they went out and got 2 directors that have taken what would be considered properties that would do well with film, and in turn knock it out of the park. The directing duo of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are definitely a hot commodity right now after the success of 21 Jump Street and The Lego Movie. Two movies that have proven if done right you can make any concept entertaining and well received.

Parting of ways

On June 20, 2017 it was announced that Lucasfilm and Lord/Miller would be parting ways on the Han Solo Film. A statement about the change was released on the StarWars.com website. In the statement Kathleen Kennedy , President of LucasFilm stated:

“Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are talented filmmakers who have assembled an incredible cast and crew, but it’s become clear that we had different creative visions on this film, and we’ve decided to part ways. A new director will be announced soon.”

To follow along with this Lord and Miller also stated:

“Unfortunately, our vision and process weren’t aligned with our partners on this project. We normally aren’t fans of the phrase ‘creative differences’ but for once this cliché is true. We are really proud of the amazing and world-class work of our cast and crew”

But was it mutual?

So it seems that it was a mutual parting. But lets read between the lines a little. In both statements the fantastic cast and crew were mentioned. It appears that was the only thing that was agreed upon. Lord and Miller didn’t state how great Disney and Lucas Film has been.

So while this seems on the surface to be mutual, it looks more like a straight up firing. As I stated before, the directing team is a hot Hollywood commodity right now, but they are a hot commodity for a different genre than the universe of Star Wars. They know how to make great comedic efforts. Sure, there are some comedic undertones when it comes to Han, but there is also a lot more. I’m sure that this is where the scope of creative vision hit a wall. I think in the long run this may have been good for the film, but lets talk about the possibility that this could have doomed the film.

What could go wrong?

First of all the film is already in production, and set for release in May of next year. Just like Luke blowing up the first Death Star – the task of bringing on a new director and hitting a date for a film that has a large amount of special effects depth in less then a year is not easy. Compound this with: How much was already shot? Was any of it deemed good in Lucasfilm’s eyes? How much if any has to be re-shot? Then you have the issue of what director do you bring on, will they look at the visuals, and deem that what has been shot already needs to be re-shot? There are a lot of variables when dealing with the timetable.

Past Mistakes

So let’s say they don’t do any re-shoots and stick with everything they have already. Will the movie flow properly? Sometimes when you mix visual eyes and direction it causes a rift in how good the final product is. Let’s take the example of another studio owned by Disney, Marvel Studios. Remember the film Ant-man and the whole debacle that came with that? Another film that was in production, where there was a creative difference causing Edgar Wright, the director of that film, to be released.

The film had Paul Rudd and Adam Mckay step in on reworking some of the script, Peyton Reed a much lesser director to Edgar Wright was hired. The finished product was ok, somewhat decent. Against the backdrop of all other Marvel films it is considered the most “meh” and lackluster. This creates a large fear in me for the Han Solo film. I hope that even though it’s technically a different studio, it’s still headed by Disney in the umbrella, and that they have learned from their mistakes. We can’t have a lackluster film involving Han Solo. A step back now is going to be a lot harder to overcome after the quality we got from Rogue One, and what I assume will be an amazing movie in The Last Jedi.

What are your thoughts?

Do you think going with different directors now before it’s to late will hurt or help the film? Would you prefer they postpone the release date and start from scratch? Do you think that no matter what after this situation the film is doomed? Get the conversation going. Let us know in the comments below, or on any one of our other social media platforms Facebook and Twitter.

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